Is Georgia's tight win over Mississippi State cause for concern?

Gerogia football came away with a hard fought 41-31 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. I think this score is a lot closer than any of us had hoped for, but is this close win a cause for concern?

If you look at the final score without any context then absolutely a 10 point win at home against a one win team is cause for concern. But after digesting the game a little bit I don't think it's time to hit the panic button yet.

Carson Beck's dominance

For starters, the reason our level of concern shouldn't be too high is because of the elite performance we just witnessed from quarterback Carson Beck. Beck set career highs in completions with 36 and passing yards with 459. Throwing for three touchdowns and leading the offense to 41 points against an SEC opponent is a positive sign as well.

If Beck plays this well every game then Georgia will have a great shot to beat any team. But the reason why I, and many of you, may be slightly concerned going forward is because of the UGA defense.

Don't let Mississippi State's 31 points fool you

Every time I see the number 31 by Mississippi State's name I want to throw up. If Georgia is going to give up that many points to MSU then I don't want to know what could happen against teams like Texas or Tennessee.

But there is some context that is needed, context that head coach Kirby Smart discussed in great detail after the game.

14 of Mississippi State's 31 points were gifted to MSU because of penalties by the UGA defense. This isn't an excuse by any means for giving up these points, but it is crucial context that must be added. In my eyes these penalties were very flukey, and the fact that they directly led to Mississippi State scoring 14 points is very significant.

So if you take those 14 points away and Georgia actually wins this game 41-17, then I don't think any of us are panicking right now. But at the end of the day those points were scored and it does raise my level of concern a little bit.

I do however think that this win should not be the single reason anyone should be more concerned about Georgia going forward. Yes there are a lot of problems that need to be corrected, but I believe these things, like the costly penalties, can and will be fixed.

And if UGA does just that, I think the Bulldogs will be leaving Austin next week with a massive upset win over the top ranked Longhorns.